Shoe sewing machine



94 v1 r mix 1944- J. P. FREDERICKSEN 2,360,436

SHOE SEWING MACHINE Filed Feb. 27 1942 Patented Oct. 17, 1944 SHOE SEWING MACHINE James P. Fredericksen, Wollaston, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 27, 1942, Serial No. 432,653

8 Claims.

- therewith.

The use of a storm welt having an upstanding bead or lip which engages the upper adjacent the intersection of sole and upper is often considered desirable in certain styles of shoes, particularly on the heavier types such as sport shoes, and the like. Since the manner of constructing the Goodyear Welt type of shoe readily permits the use of a storm welt merely by substituting a beaded welt for a plain welt in the inseaming operation, shoes with storm welt have heretofore been limited to those made in accordance with the Goodyear method.

In order that shoes constructed by other methods may nevertheless possess the appearance and advantages resultin from the use of a storm welt, the present invention has for an object the provision of a machine adapted for shoe construction not generally provided with storm welt, for example, the construction of cemented shoes, in such manner as to provide an effective and improved sealing engagement between the upper and the bead of a storm welt.

The invention accordingly contemplates the provision of a sewing machine having a curved needle and work supporting and guiding means formed with suitably located and grooved supporting surfaces disposed at an acute angle to the needle path including an edge gage, whereby a beaded storm welt and the margin of an unattach'tl outsole may be directed to the sewing point with the bead of the welt in accurately spaced relation to the margin of the outsole, enabling the parts to be secured by a line of stitches passing through a flange on the welt outside but close to the bead and through the sole, with the bead on the welt in position snugly to engage the lasted upper of a completed shoe after assembly therewith.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating the several features of the invention, Fig. 1 is a view in right side elevation of a portion of a sewing machine adjacent the sewing point, showing in section the work supporting and guiding mechanism of the invention, together with a portion of a sole and welt being sewn, the section of the supporting and guiding mechanism being taken along the line ll of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the work support showing the sole and welt guides as viewed from above; Fig. 3 is a view in right side elevation of the support and guide, with a sole and welt shown in section; Fig. 4 is a view of the support and guide in front elevation; Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the parts in front elevation, taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and showing in addition a portion of a sole and welt; Fig. 6 is a detail view of the welt guide removed from the support; Fig. 7 is a sectional fragment of a shoe at one stage of assembly in accordance with one method of the invention, prior to removal of the last; Fig. 8 is a similar view at a later stage of assembly, the sole and upper having been forced together to bring the bead into firm engagement with the upper; and Fig. 9 is a sectional fragment of a shoe constructed in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention.

The manufacture of shoes, wherein a beaded welt having flanges at either side of the bead is attached to the margin of a shaped outsole prior to assembly with the upper, requires that the welt be accurately positioned on the sole in order that the bead may be in proper relation to the contour of the break line of the upper. Accordingly, a machine embodying the present invention is provided having specially designed work supporting and guiding devices for accommodating a, beaded welt and a shaped outsole.

A machine of this general type is shown in United States Letters Patent to Fred Ashworth No. 1,169,909, issued February 1, 1916. In Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing, there is shown the portion of this machine adjacent the sewing point, such showing being sufficient for a full understanding of the invention. The machine employs a curved needle l2 and a curved awl l4 operating in an arcuate path represented by the dot-and-dash line I6. Also shown is the shuttle IS, a presser foot 20 of conventional design, and a flat work support or table 22 incorporating the welt and sole guiding devices of the invention. The work table is secured to the machine frame 24 by means of an integral rearwardly extending arm or lug 26 of standard construction to permit the use of conventional work tables interchangeably on the same machine.

It is contemplated that a welt strip of the type illustrated in the drawing will be generally, although not necessarily exclusively, employed for attachment to the shaped outsole 28. Such welt strip comprises an outer flange portion 30, an inner flange 32 which is beveled 0r feathered to provide a better seat for the upper especially where cement is employed for securing the parts, and a centrally disposed bead or rib 34 of rounded or other suitable shape.

The welt is directed upwardly into engagement with the sole and guided in aligned relation therewith past the sewing point by means of a welt guide 36 provided with a longitudinal channel or groove 38 within which the bead of the welt is received and by which the actual guiding of the flange at one side of the bead on the welt in relation to the needle path is effected, the seam being inserted in the side flange of the welt. The guide comprises a block on the work support having an inclined portion 40 by which the entering welt is advanced into contact with the sole, this inclined portion being received within an upwardly sloping passage 42 formed in the work table. The guide likewise includes a substantially horizontal guiding portion 44 which extends past the sewing point, the continuous groove effectively maintaining the bead, and therefore the welt as a whole, in accurate relation to the path It of the needle and awl, while the surface 46 rearwardly of the groove 38 serves to support the outer welt flange 30. As a consequence of the positive guiding provided by the bead-receiving groove, no reliance need be placed on the flange edges on the welt for this function, and in fact, storm welts entirely lacking one or the other ,of the flanges may be effectively and accurately directed.

The guide is provided with an aperture 48 for the needle and awl, this aperture registering with an opening 50 formed in the work table 22. In order that the stitches may be inclined to the tread face of the sole 28, the surface of the work table, which is substantially flat, is inclined with respect to the path of the needle and awl in accordance with the teaching of Hopkins and Bertrand Patent No. 2,233,413, issued March 4, 1941. On account of the inclination of the work table the passages 48 and 50 are directed at an angle to the surface of the table.

To support the sole 28 with its welt-contacting face in contact with the welt at the sewing point, the welt guide 36 is provided with a raised surface portion 52 which extends above the level of the guide surface 46 by an amount equal to the thickness of the welt flange 30. Additional support for the sole is afforded by a bridging cover member 54 which serves also as the top of the upwardl sloping welt passage 42. The top surface of member 54 is flush with surface portion 52, while the under side of the member, as shown in cross-sectional View, Fig. 5, is parallel to the inclined portion 40 of the guide.

To enable the spacing between guide and cover member to be adjusted to accommodate welts of different thicknesses, the bridging cover member 54 is arranged for sliding adjustment toward possible by the provision of an adjusting screw 62 operating in a lug 64 beneath the work table 22. At its inner end, the screw is provided with a double flanged collar 66 which cooperates with a yoke 68 on the welt guide to provide a relatively rotatable connection for transferring to the guide the axial movement of the adjusting screw. After the proper setting is obtained, a recessed clamping screw passing through slot 12 in the sole supporting portion 52 may be tightened to secure the guide in adjusted position.

The sole 28 is independently guided to the sewing point by means of an edge gage which is 0 the innersole 94.

and from the sewing point horizontally in the line of feed. Moving the cover member toward the sewing point decreases the clearance or space, while movement away from the sewing point increases the space to admit thicker welts. Flush mounted screws passing through slots 58 in the member 54 into the work table serve to clamp the member in adjusted position. A shoulder 58 in the inter-engaging surfaces of member 54 and work table 22 serves to maintain the member at right angles to the welt guide during adjustment of said member 54.

In most cases, it is desirable to have the stitches pass through the flange 30 of the welt close to the bead 34, such path being indicated by the line IS in Fig. 1. Accordingly, the welt guide is adapted for transverse adjustment relative to the needle path, accurate setting bein made mounted to permit separate adjustment, so that the welt and sole may be secured with their edges flush, or with the welt edge set in a predetermined distance from the sole edge, as may be desired. The gage comprises a rounded sole engaging portion 14 mounted at the end of a supporting arm 16 extending diagonally to the rear, said arm, in turn, being carried by an adjustably mounted block 18 secured to the side of the work table 22 by a clamp screw 80. A channel 82 in the table and a complementary projection 84 of block 18 provide cooperating guideway surfaces for maintaining the parts in alignment while making an adjustment. As will be seen from Fig. 1, the lower portion of the sole edge engaging portions of the guide is cut away at 86 to provide clearance for the welt guide, permitting welts having a narrow outer flange to be sewn with their edges flush with the sole.

B reason of the accurate guiding of the welt in relation to the needle and to the sole edge, the parts, when assembled with a lasted upper 90, appear in the relationshown in Fig. '7, wherein the bead or rib of the storm welt lies partly inside the break line 92 of the upper, or where the upper makes an abrupt turn around the edge of Accordingly, on forcible assembly of the parts (with interposed adhesive in the case of a cemented shoe), the bead of the welt is forced outward by the turn of the upper,

which thereupon becomes seated on the feathered flange 32 and likewise snugly ngaged by the bead which yieldingly resists outward displacement. Fig, 8 shows the parts so assembled and illustrates the manner in which the storm bead furnishes an additional and highly effective seal against the weather. As a matter of fact, in many cases, there results an engagement of bead and upper that is more effective than in the case of the Goodyear welt type of shoe, wherein the sewing of the welt to the outsole after the welt has been secured to the upper may tend to Hraw the bead away from the upper.

Instead of a cement type shoe, the welted outsole and the lasted upper may be assembled in proper alignment, the upper being forced into the space defined by the head of the welt, and the parts then secured temporarily while the last is removed. Permanent attachment of the sole may thereupon be effected. by through-andthrough stitching-96, as on a McKay type machine. A shoe constructed in this manner is shown in section in Fig. 9, which illustrates the manner in which the upper is securely seated between the edge of the innersole 94 and the storm bead 34. In both type of construction, it is apparent that if the seam 98 by which the welt is first secured to the sole is placed close to the bead on the outside thereof, such stitches may be partially covered and'protected as the bead is forced outwardly upon assembly with the upper.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, what is claimed is:'

1. A shoe sewing machine for attaching a beaded welt to the margin of an unattached shoe sole Comprising stitch forming devices including a curved needle, work supporting and guiding.

means including an edge gage for positioning the sole relative to the needle path, and a welt guide provided with a sole supporting surface disposed at an acute angle to the needle path at the plane of said supporting surface, and an adjacent welt supporting surface for supporting a welt with its sole engaging face flush with the sole supporting surface of the guide, said welt supporting surface including a groove adapted to receive the bead of the welt to provide accurate guiding relation between the welt and the needle path.

2. A shoe sewing machine for attaching a beaded welt to the margin of an unattached shoe sole comprising stitch forming devices including a curved needle, work supporting and guiding means including an edge gage for positioning the sole relative to the needle path and a welt guide provided with a groove adapted to receive the bead of the welt to provide accurate guiding relation between the bead and the guide, the sole edgegage and the welt guide each being transversely adjustable to position the sole and the welt independently relative to the needle path.

3. An attachment for shoe sewing machines for use in sewing a beaded welt to the margin of a shaped unattached shoe sole with the bead of the welt in predetermined spaced relation to the edge of the sole, said attachment comprising means adapted to be secured to the machine to mount the attachment thereon, a work support, an edge gage adjustably mounted thereon for positioning the sole relative to the needle path of the machine, and a welt guide provided with a groove adapted to receive the bead of the welt to provide accurate guiding relation between the bead and the guide, said guide being mounted on the support for independent transverse adjustment relative to the needle path.

4.. A shoe sewing machine for attaching a beaded welt to the margin of an unattached shoe sole comprising stitch forming devices including a curved needle, work supporting and guiding means including an edge gage for positioning the sole relative to the needle path, a welt guide provided with a groove adapted to receive the head of the welt to position the same relative to the needle path, said guide having a sloping guiding surface for directing the welt upwardly toward the sewing point, and a bridging member extending over the sloping welt guiding surface and adjustable toward and from the sewing point to vary the depth of the welt guiding passage between the guiding surface and the bridging mem her, the top surface of said member comprising a supporting surface for the sole.

5. A shoe sewing machine for attaching a beaded welt to the margin of an unattached shoe sole comprising stitch forming devices including a curved needle, work supporting and guiding means including an edge gage for positioning the sole relative to the needle path, a welt guide having a sloping guiding surface for directing the welt upwardly toward the sewing point, and a sole supporting bridging member extending across the sloping welt guiding surface and adjustable toward and from the sewing point to vary the depth of the welt guiding passage between the guiding surface of the welt guide and the bridging member.

6. A shoe sewing machine for attaching a beaded welt to the margin of an unattached shoe sole comprising stitch forming devices including a curved needle, work supporting and guiding means including an edge gage for positioning th sole relative to the needle path, a welt guide having a sloping guiding surface for directing the welt upwardly toward the sewing point, and a sole supporting bridging member extending across the sloping welt guiding surface and adjustable toward and from the sewing point to vary the depth of the welt guiding passage between the guiding surface of the welt guide and the bridging member.

JAMES P. FREDERICKSEN. 

